In the Hands of the People

An inspiring manual on how to be a good citizen today, from Thomas Jefferson and others. Edited and with introductions by Pulitzer Prize winner Jon Meacham and with an afterword by Pulitzer Prize winner Annette Gordon-Reed.

Thomas Jefferson believed in the covenant between a government and its citizens, in both the government's responsibilities to its people and also the people's responsibility to the republic. In this illuminating book, a project of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jon Meacham presents selections from Jefferson's writing on the subject, with comments on Jefferson's ideas from others, including Colin Powell, Madeline Albright, Frederick Douglas, Carl Sagan, American Presidents, others.

Meacham writes of how, Jefferson's words provide a manual for U.S. citizens in the twenty-first century, thoughts revitalize the way readers relate to Jeffersonian concepts including
• Freedom: "Divided we stand, united we fall."
• The importance of a free press:"Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."
• Public education: "Enlighten the public generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body & mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day."
• Participation in government: A citizen should be "a participator in the government of affairs not merely at an election, one day in the year, but every day."

There are also sections on immigration, voting, equality, patriotism, partisanship, and with introductions to each subject by Meacham. This book will be enlightening for all citizens of the American republic.